Without
a doubt, one of the greatest film legacies of all time resides in this
one
collection. Not many film releases on home media can come close to the
magnitude of importance that exists with the James Dean: Ultimate
Collector's Edition, which presents three masterpieces: Giant,
Rebel
Without a Cause, and East of Eden in newly restored
editions which
resulted from 4K scans of the original film negatives. For
longtime fans,
rediscovering these gems on Blu-ray and through these newly minted
presentations is a true delight. This set is a treasure trove of art
represented through filmmaking.

Two
of the features in the set, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant,
reside on AFI's list of the 100 Greatest American Films of All Time. East
of
Eden is inexplicably missing but readers should keep in mind that
other
films by Elia Kazan, the director of East of Eden, reside on
the list.
AFI's endorsement of the endurance and importance of these films is
just one
example of the immense impact that these films had on filmmaking and
America's
popular culture.

James
Dean was unlike any other actors of his generation (or
perhaps any other generation for that matter).There are no good comparisons. I'm sure there are many Hollywood
producers
hoping to find the next 'James Dean', but I am positive they haven't
found the
next Dean. It wouldn't be possible. He was too unique to be duplicated.

There
is a good reason for his lasting legacy: the actor
brought something distinctive through his performances. For starters,
Dean
delivered great performances and was
able to demonstrate immense range. He was also a charismatic and
intelligent
young man who was capable of enchanting audiences of all ages and for
all of
these reasons. His death in September 1955, resultingfrom a car accident,was a great
loss to many. Dean was only 24
years old.

Dean
was a true original within the Hollywood film industry.
As an actor, the dedication he demonstrated to his craft was
remarkable. The
brilliant performances he delivered in Giant,
Rebel Without a Cause, and East of Eden were
each unlike the others
and showed how his performances could be immensely varied. The fact
that he was
only able to be in the three important film productions contained in
this set before
his untimely death is a misfortune.

Dean was only getting
started.

Giant

The
story of Giant is long, detailed, and full of
exploration. Giant is a richly rewarding story that
explores some serious thematic material. It begins by being a story of
two
people falling in love: Jordan "Bick" Benedict (Rock Hudson) and
Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth Taylor), even though the two seem to have
little in
common. Bick was traveling to buy a horse within Maryland and is a
wealthy
Texan who is head of a ranching family. He fancies Leslie when he meets
her
while on this trip, and she equally fancies him. Leslie breaks up an
engagement
she was in so that she can leave with Bick and go to Texas. The long
journey of
Giant only begins here.

Over
the course of the storyline,
the film explores racial discrimination from the Southern white
ranchers and
seeks to explore the development of the Benedict family towards racial
equality
as Leslie determinedly helps to change things for the family. This is a
core
theme of the story. The Mexican American workers who work for the
Benedicts
were isolated, segregated, and ignored. In one integral scene of the
film,
Leslie helps a seriously ill worker who was receiving no help
medically. It
becomes clear to her that not enough is being done to care for these
people,
who Leslie understands work with them.
Yet she see's that they are being discriminated against. In concluding
the
film, there is a pivotal scenethat
makes a definitive statement about the great importance of racial
equality. It
becomes clear that one of the points of the film is to say that being a
"Giant" can have more to do with standing up for what is right than
for always being showered with riches.

In
voicing her opinions and
fighting for what she believes in, Leslie also changes the stance on a
woman's
role within this family business infrastructure. She wants to do the
same kind
of work the men do and she wants to be able to be involved in the
process that
the other men so selfishly attempt to keep to themselves. In a key
sequence,
Leslie and Bick disagree over an issue while Bick's having a meeting
with his
male colleagues. He refuses to listen to her and let her join in the
meeting.
This causes marital problems between the two, who have a temporary
separation
during the film's story. This is another big focal point of the story,
and it
makes the film much more compelling and important as a result.

Dean
plays the role of Jett Rink,
who was working for Luz Benedict (Mercedes McCambridge), and trying to
make a
living so that he could eventfully become rich and leave Texas behind.
It was
his dream: an American dream of finding success. Upon Luz's passing, he
is
given shares that allow him land of his own because he was in Luz's
will. Bick
tries to purchase back the share of the land but Jett rejects. He
eventually
finds oil and becomes a bigger tycoon with greater wealth and power
than the
Benedict family. Yet his greatest tragedy lies in how his feelings for
Leslie
(whom he is in love with) can never come to fruition and his pain leads
directly into a path of his own destruction.

The
part of Jett in Giant was Dean's final performance on
film and it was his peak between the three films. Despite being a
supporting
role, Dean's performance as Jett arguably became the most stand-out one
of the
film despite a shorter appearance compared to the lead performers,
Elizabeth
Taylor and Rock Hudson.Whenever I think
of Giant, despite the many amazing elements to the film, the first
thing I always
think of is James Dean and his iconic role in it:wearing
his similarly iconic Cowboy hat -
which helped to add flavor to his performance.

The
canvas of the filmmaking in Giant was quite expansive
- it is
something that George Stevens understood how to utilize especially well
as a
filmmaker. Stevens was not an overt director like so many are --
instead of
wanting to draw attention to stylistic flourishes, he wanted to hone in
on the
performances of the actors. Yet a masterful skill resided in Stevens to
deliver
incredible shots, these fantastic moments of cinematic greatness when
he felt
it necessary. He was more capable than most filmmakers as a true
visionary of
the medium and how to best utilize it to share stories.

Stevens
was so precise when it came
down to his directing efforts. Giant is one
of the great epics in cinema history. He was entirely capable of
telling the
detailed story inherent in the book and script while also bringing the
best out
of his actors. I feel as though he seemed to know exactly when things
could
shine further with moments of extreme majesty shining through. It was
the quiet
moments that he created that helped to form the greater, big picture.

Giant is
without a doubt my favorite film in this entire collection: it is one
of the
greatest of all westerns and a truly remarkable cinematic achievement.
Featuring excellent performances by Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and
James
Dean and based upon the novel by Edna Ferber, Giantis one of the greatest
films ever made.

Rebel
Without a Cause

The
concept of Rebel Without a Cause was to focus on
telling a story about confused middle class teenagers living in
Suburbia. How
the story was told was a different matter altogether. Back in 1955,
when the
film was first released, the film was controversial at the time as it
seemingly
depicted teenage rebellion and moral decay in the 1950s. Yet there is a
lot
that happens in the course of the film that has made it become the
classic that
it is heralded as. Originally conceived to be a cheaply produced
black-and-white movie, Warner Bros had switched the production into a
larger
budget mode and with color filming when it became apparent that James
Dean was
one of the rising stars of the time.

From
the opening frame of the
film, Dean began to deliver an iconic performance. He was creatively
enmeshed
in his characters. The first shots of the film show Dean laying on the
ground.
He is playing with a toy monkey. This was improvised. He asked the
filmmaker
Nicholas Ray if he could try something. This became the opening of the
movie. Quite
a fascinating moment. Dean was capable of such amazing acting. He had
so many
ideas.

The
story of Rebel Without a Cause primarily follows the
teenagers Jim Stark
(James Dean), Judy (Natalie Wood), and Plato (Sal Mineo) as they try to
make
sense of their lives while a sequence of events sends things spiraling
for all
of them. At the start of the film, the three teenagers are all in a
police
station, each needing their parents to get them. Jim's parents
argumentative
nature around Jim makeshim more restless
and distant. Judy's father is shockingly distant from her with a cold
detachment. Plato's father abandoned him. The characters in this story
each
deal with their own feelings of displacement.

One
of the greatest sequences in
the film is when the characters first meet each other while attending a
school
field trip to an observatory. There, while witnessing a theoretical
show
displaying the destruction of the entire universe, the wide
expansiveness of
the world is seemingly even more cold to them than before. It's a
perfect
metaphor for how the three characters are going through such severe
feelings of
isolation and misunderstandings.

The
performances byDean, Wood, and Mineo are
equally great. Each
actor brought a memorable performance to the screen. Over the course of
the
story, Jim and Judy seem somewhat parental to the Plato character. They
even
enact a 'game' of sorts at one point, inhabiting these roles. Dean and
Wood had
immense screen chemistry together and were perfectly in synch with each
other
during this film. The confusion and angst felt from the characters was
well
demonstrated by the performances.

Nicholas
Ray did an excellent job
as the director of Rebel Without a Cause.The
story is a complicated one to tell,
and was not a small task for Ray to attempt to realize as director.
Everything
about the film was stylistically 'ace' and he managed to have the
actors create
compelling characters that could be universally fascinating and
compelling.

The
film has incredible pacing and
flows from one scene into the next with a remarkable vitality that's
essentially fundamental to the film's success. This universally
appealing story
was one he managed to tell with a heart and soul in the filmmaking,
which makes
the tragic ending so powerful that one can truly consider it amongst
the best
film endings of all time.

East
of Eden

East
of Eden is
based
upon the acclaimed novel written by John Steinbeck. It was adapted for
the
screen by Paul Osborn. This production of the book was a gigantic
undertaking
for its makers, both in terms of what the director and studio brought
to the
production. Warner Bros helped make East
of Eden one of the first films to be made in CinemaScope, a
technology
meant to pioneer widescreen filmmaking.

Directed
by acclaimed filmmaker
Elia Kazan (On the Waterfront) and
introducing the young James Dean to the film-going public this is one
of the
greatest of Kazan's accomplishments, who was at his absolute best with
this
masterpiece. He helped to bring forth
Dean's
electrifying performance, which to this day still stand's as one of the
best
debut performances by an actor in a feature film.

Dean
actually got his start in
small bit-parts on television programs before landing the big role in East of Eden, which catapulted his
career quickly and helped to make him a star. This role is the
launching pad
that led him to getting the roles in Rebel
Without a Cause and Giant that
would so closely follow. It was also the only film of the three he made
that
Dean was able to see complete prior to release.

I've
never actually read the East of Eden novel, though I
am fond of
Steinbeck. The film version by Kazan, as adapted by Osborn, is
supposedly only
loosely based upon the second half of the book, so those who love the
novel
might find some issues with this film. Yet I find this story
mesmerizing and
profound.

It is
at least partially a
narrative retelling of Cain and Abel. The storyline in East
of Eden focuses primarily upon Cal (James Dean), who feels
that his love for his father is being rejected and that his father,
Adam ((Raymond
Massey) cares more for his other son Aron (Richard Davalos). His father is a highly religious man and Cal
feels that he cannot live up to his father's idealism. As the storyline
progresses, Aron is in a relationship with Abra (Julie Harris) that Cal
is
jealous about as he has feelings for his brother's girlfriend. Abra,
who at
first seems to dislike Cal, eventually grows to feel attracted to him.

Abra
and Cal begin to spend some
time together and they ultimately connect over the feelings they have
felt
under their upbringing. Abra sees the disappointment and pain Cal feels
in not
pleasing his father, and in feeling a lack of love. Abra tells Cal
about how
her own father had given her gifts of great monetary value, but was not
there
for her and that it made her feel she wasn't loved. This scene, set by
the
backdrop a beautiful field of golden flowers, is one of the most
affecting and
profound of the film.

At
the start of the story, Cal
believed his mother to be dead. Later in the story he discovers she
actually is
still alive but that his father had been telling Cal and Aron otherwise
for all
of their years without her. He seeks finding his mother, and when he
succeeds
he meets Kate (Jo Van Fleet), who Cal
discovers runs a brothel. Kate seems to connect to the fact Cal feels
rejected
from Adam. Cal, still desperate for his father's affection, asks to
borrow
money from Kate in hoping to sell beans during a war-time shortage so
that he
can repay his father for ice that he destroyed, belonging to his
father.
Reluctantly, Kate agrees to loan Cal the money to get this started. Jo
Van
Fleet won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her
performance demonstrated
the icily cold character of Kate, who Cal fails to realize never looked
for him
or Aron during all of their years apart.

The
conclusion of the film is one
that unfolds with brilliant pacing and some of Kazan's most impressive
framing
of the characters. One of the things I appreciate about East
of Eden, after how wonderful the performances are, is the
nightmarish fervor that Kazan creates with tilted camera angles and
bizarre
framing that most director's would ignore. This makes the descent Cal's
feeling
emotional seem to be represented through the ebb and flow of the
camera.

Most
director's would simply ignore
or underestimate the sheer importance of this technique, but Kazan
makes a
grand cinematic gesture with some of the most fascinating shots in film
history.
In one of the best moments demonstrating this technique, Cal swings
back and
forth on an outdoor swing while talking with his father. As Cal pulls
towards
and away from the camera, which is titled slightly, and bleakly
composed with
cinematography by Ted McCord, the scene becomes more and more
heightened and,
frankly, scary to behold. It brings
the story to a closer emotional core as viewers can identify with the
confusion
and distraught feelings that Cal goes through.

East
of Eden is a
genuine American classic.When you think
of films with great performances this is a film that easily comes to
mind. Dean
is so fantastic and so unafraid to be emotionally resonant, that it's
shocking
to recognize it as a film debut. The supporting performance are so
powerful as
well, especially the supporting part by Julie Harris, which is so
distinct when
it's compared to her other performances. I love East of
Eden -- it's one of the first films that was influential on
my growing love of cinema and the power
of filmmaking. It is a fine work of accomplished art that is worth
cherishing
and remembering for all of its immense worth and contribution towards
the craft
of filmmaking. It is magnifique.

The
Blu-ray:

Video:

Giant

Giant is
presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, which is the ratio
that was
utilized during filming. The film itself was exhibited in theaters with
the
more common 1.85:1 ratio, but this Blu-ray presents the film with the
most
authentic representation of the work done during the making of the
movie. This
1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer does a good job with the presentation
of
MPI's restoration efforts, which resulted from a 4K scan of the
negative.

Home-video
connoisseurs will be
slightly disheartened to learn that the average bit-rate is around 22
MBPS for
the presentation. I am a firm believer that bit-rates help to tell a
good
portion of the PQ story when it comes to video-encodes. That is not to
say that
presentations with a lower PQ bit-rate is guaranteed
to be a disappointing presentation. I mean only to suggest that itis a big factor to consider in evaluating any
film presentation on Blu-ray and DVD.

With
regards to Giant, this transfer could surely have
been improved had the film been allowed breathing room across a
two-disc
presentation, and one would hope such an effort would have been allowed
to
yield even greater results than what is found with this Blu-ray
edition. At the
very least, I feel the film could have been included across three
discs: one
showing the film uninterrupted, and another two discs preserving the
film with
the best possible transfer. As unlikely as this scenario sounds for
Warner
Bros, I feel as though some films merit this as presentation
quality-control
and that some films could be improved with a simple solution similar to
what I
am suggesting.

That
is not to say that the Giant transfer is a slouch or
that most
film fans will walk away disappointed. To my surprise, the transfer is
mostly
quite impressive. I am just being the "particular" person that I am
in analyzing the presentation. Some sequences and scenes underwhelm due
to
limitations of the source: certain moments are going to look soft as
conditions
of the material is slightly varied.Yet
most scenes are crisp, clean, and well represented.

Considering
the fact that the film
has an over 3 hour long run time, and that the film is presented on
only one single
50 GB Blu-ray disc, I was quite impressed with the presentation
results. All
things considered, I feel this is the best presentation of Giant
ever released on media. So most viewers will likely feel this
transfer is a 'revelation' of what the film looks like - it certainly
is
stunning at times to see just how detailed Giant
can look in High Definition.

I've
never before seen the film
look as good as it does here.I have a
few nitpicky complaints, but the simple fact is that this is a
worthwhile
upgrade, significantly improved over previous editions of the film.

The
film itself is filled with so
many conversational-pieces and slow pan camera sequences that the
bit-rates are
relatively strong for the material presented and help to maintain what
is
mostly notable about the film quality in regards to depth, color, and
detail.
There is also little damage: restoration efforts by MPI helped with
this aspect
of the presentation. Lastly, I also noticed no unnecessary digital
tinkering,
which helps to solidify this as an impressive transfer worthy of
consideration.

Rebel
Without a Cause

In my
estimation, Rebel Without a Cause is the best
looking film out of the three presented in the James Dean:
Ultimate Collector's Edition. There is something about
its unique visual style that impresses me the most. Perhaps it has
something to
do with the color and the way it brings the best out of the costumes,
especially the famous red jacket Dean wore during the film.

All
three films contain excellent
cinematography, and yet I found the work that was done by the Academy
Award
winning cinematographer Ernest Haller to be the best of the bunch. This
is an
excellent film aesthetically, and I consider that element to begin with
the
brilliant photography, which is well represented with this Blu-ray
release.

The
original 2.55:1 theatrical
aspect ratio has been preserved. The 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encode is
splendid and
has an average bit-rate is around 25 mbps. This is certainly not a huge
sampling rate, but it's par-the-course for Warner Bros and it's
adequate for
this presentation. I found the film to have good color depth and decent
clarity. The film could have been sharper. However, the sharpness in
this
transfer is notable, nonetheless, and far better when compared to
earlier
presentations of Rebel Without a Cause.

This
film presentation doesn't
suffer from anything artificial attempting to "enhance" the film
either. It's free of artificial sharpening, DNR, and an assortment of
similar
ailments that are detrimental to quality. Another plus is that the
presentation
has solid black levels. This is a pleasing presentation and one that I
find
little to fault.

I also found the CinemaScope design to be
quite impressive. It is important to realize that the technology was
new at the
time. This was one of the first films to use the technology, which
pioneered
anamorphic lenses and the widescreen format. I think Rebel
Without a Cause is a notable example of the strength of the
format. It is a splendid image, despite the flaws of the CinemaScope
technology.

I did
not notice anything that
created a sensation of a "stretched" image for my viewing, which is a
common complaint of the technology, and rightfully so as it an
optically flawed
system. Many other films made in CinemaScope seem notably stretched to
me so
recognizing the widescreen brilliance of Rebel
Without a Cause and how seamlessly it handled the new technology
seems
worthwhile. While many will not think of the film from this aesthetic
area,
this was a hugely significant film in terms of pioneering the
technology of
widescreen filmmaking.

It's
efforts made with films like Rebel Without a Cause
that led us to the
technological brilliance of modern filmmaking technologies: the current
scope aspect
ratios and presentations would not even exist without such efforts.

East
of Eden

There's
something majestic about the color in East
of Eden. Above and beyond every other aesthetic quality of this
film,
that's easily the thing that stand out to me the most. Especially
getting to
view the canvas of the Salinas valley and the beautiful blooming
flowers with
the richness of color that one often hopes
for but rarely gets to discover with such cinematically splendid
fervor. I
was utterly enchanted by this element of the film, which was director
Elia
Kazan's first color film.This Blu-ray
wonderfully presents that color with the new 4K scan elevating the
presentation
to new heights.

The
1080p MPEG-4
AVC encoded transfer of East of Eden
is a strong one indeed. The image retains adequate grain and there is a
real
sense of richness in the texture of the photography. I certainly find
this to
be a beautiful film, one with a complex visual quality that is
astonishing,
largely due to the stylistic choices of Kazan and cinematographer Ted
McCord.
The original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.55:1 has been preserved. The
scope
ratio effectively helps Kazan create a larger sense of the 'mood'in many of the scenes, especially when he
makes things topsy-turvy during the story's darker moments.

Despite
the fact
that I find East of Eden to be a
beautiful film, I am not particularly fond of the CinemaScope
technology as
demonstrated with this film. I appreciate the wider canvas which
resulted from
the technology, yet the way the image became stretched at times because
of the
technology was a distraction. The technology which was still in its
infancy.
This is something that impacts my experience to a small degree.
However, I try
to remember that it's a limitation resulting from what was possible
when the
film was made and I encourage other viewers to be considerate of this
aspect of
the production as well.

The
CinemaScope format is no fault of the
transfer, which preserves
the film as accurately as possible. This is one of the first films to
use the widescreen
technology of the time and in that regard it should be considered a
pioneering
effort. However, I find the use of CinemaScope in East of
Eden to be disappointing in comparison to how Rebel
Without a Cause implemented it and
only shortly thereafter.

The
image is full of depth and
clarity. The new scan and restoration does wonders for this film. East of Eden has always been a beautiful
film with lush photography and with a genuinely great attention to
detail.The new transfer has no ailments
that can
result from digital tinkering and it presents the source with a proper
layer of
film grain.

The
only real issue with the film
is that the scene-change dissolves have some weak detail due to the
source
limitations. This is not a fault of Warner Bros or the restoration team
at MPI,
but it's nonetheless something that has a impact on the visual finesse
of the
presentation. This minor drawback aside, East
of Eden looks stellar in an authentic and well-realized Blu-ray
transfer
which dramatically demonstrates the importance of film restoration and
4K
scanning when preserving films.

Audio:

Giant

By a
large margin, I consider the
presentation Warner Bros has allotted to Giant
in the sound department to be the absolute best of the three films in
this set.
This is primarily because the film's audio presentation has been
preserved with
stereo sound rendered in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, sourced from the mono
soundtrack and preserving the general soundstage with a authentic
sounding
representation of the source.

Maintaining
the original audio
design allows for the film's audio to sound natural and authentic --
closer to
the way as it did when released to theaters for the first time. There
is
surprising fidelity for a film of this age. It doesn't sound digitally
altered
and the sound-stage is impressive with good clarity and depth for the
stereo
sound. Dialogue is clearly distinguishable and easy to understand. The
score
and sound effects have decent range and sound reasonably good.I certainly found the film benefited from its
notable sound-design.

Rebel
Without a Cause

Unlike
the audio presentation Giant received, Warner Bros.
has given Rebel Without a Cause an audio makeover of
sorts with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio presentation. I'm all for keeping
the original
audio intact but this is actually not that bad of a sound mix for the
film. Surprisingly,
I found it sounded rather authentic with the material.

Many
will refer to it as a
glorified mono mix. I disagree.There's a
bit more dimensionality to the mix, especially when the car sequences
are taken
into account, and with regards to the way score music was implemented.
However,
I will also maintain that this is a
authentic sounding mix that is generally an impressive and satisfactory
experience. It's still a front-heavy mix. It implements a good range of
bass
into the sound-stage. It's simply a nice expansion to the audio
presentation
and not an awful attempt at utilizing sound effects beyond their
capabilities.

I
actually wish that an option was
given for both a surround sound re-mix and the original mono to be
selectable
on the disc. This seems to be an over-sight from Warner Bros.
Nonetheless, the
sound is impressive in its lossless surround sound mix. Film fans won't
feel
disappointed by the presentation as long as the audio-purist in them
doesn't
kick it into over-drive on this one.

East
of Eden

East
of Eden has
received the least impressive sound presentation out of the three films
on the James Dean: Ultimate Collector's Edition.
That's not to say it's a terrible presentation, by any means. There
certainly
is good fidelity and dynamic range to the source material. Yet when it
comes to
authenticity I felt this presentation was a minor disappointment.

Unfortunately,
the re-mixed 5.1
DTS-HD Master audio sounded a bit unnatural to me at times. Take, for
instance,
the sequence involving the falling blocks of ice as ruined by an
outraged Cal.
This scene was particularly troublesome to me as it sounded like an
inauthentic
expansion to 5.1 surround. The way the sound materials were utilized in
this
moment (and to a lesser degree some other parts of the film) made it a
slightly
less enveloping experience. I found it a bit distracting to my viewing.

Overall,
most viewers (listeners?)
are unlikely to be bothered much by this mix as it is still generally
front-heavy. However, I really wish that the original audio had been
provided.
I absolutely feel as though the original
mono sound mix would provide a better experience.

Dialogue
clarity is good. The
music score by Leonard Rosenman sounds beautiful: haunting when it
needs to be
but also uplifting when the story and performances are in need of some
emotional
grace.

Additional
Screenshots:

Click on
an image to view the Blu-ray
screenshot with 1080p resolution

Screenshot
from East of Eden

Screenshot
from East of Eden

Screenshot
from East of Eden

Screenshot
from Giant

Screenshot
from Giant

Screenshot
from Giant

Screenshot
from Rebel Without a Cause

Screenshot
from Rebel Without a Cause

Screenshot
from Rebel Without a Cause

Screenshot
from Rebel Without a Cause

Extras:

Inside
of the Ultimate Collector's
Edition set, there are a number of exclusive collectible items. The
first big
addition is the collector's edition book: providing 40 pages worth of
photographs and some information, quotes, and insights, the book is a
decent
look at James Dean and his career. Personally, I found the writing and
formatting of the book to be a bit underwhelming quality-wise, but it's
a
decent addition to the set. I would have far preferred some essays or
stories
about Dean be printed (Criterion-style) than what mostly amounts to
being
pictures, quotes, and little substance.

There
are several in-set additions
included as well: Photos (on high-quality glossy paper), Memos from East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause,
and fold-out posters for all three
productions: Giant, East of Eden, and
Rebel Without a Cause.

Two
feature documentaries are also
exclusive to the Ultimate Collector's Edition (and are not found in the
separate DigiBook editions):

James
Dean: Sense Memories
(1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 53 min.) is an
episode of the American Masters PBS documentary series that originally
aired in
2005. This episode is all about focusing on Dean. There is an abundance
of interviews
and background information provided by individuals within the Hollywood
elite.
This includes recollections from those somewhat familiar with Dean from
when he
began his acting career to individuals who had worked closely with the
actor
during production on East of Eden and
Rebel Without a Cause.

James
Dean: Forever Young
(1.33:1, 1 Hr. 28 Min.) is another documentary
about the actor. It was narrated by Martin Sheen. In addition to
exploring his
main feature roles (the iconic ones presented in this beautiful Blu-ray
set),
the documentary explores his television appearances. There is also
information
on his love life and other personal details. It's a different type of
documentary approach than most of the other James Dean documentaries
sprinkled
across several discs in the James Dean:
Ultimate Collector's Edition.

Below
you can find information on
the other supplemental materials included with each of the films in the
collection:

Giant

The
Blu-ray release of Giant retains all of the
supplemental
features found on the 2-Disc DVD Special Edition. The second disc for Giant (a DVD) is the same one
previously included in that edition. This release also adds the
addition of a
separate DVD of the documentary film George
Stevens: A Filmmakers Journey (1 Hr. 51 Min.) which was produced,
written,
and directed by George Stevens, Jr. as an exploration of his father's
career
and craft.

On
the Feature-Film Blu-ray:

Introduction
by George Stevens, Jr. (SD,
3 min.)

Commentary
by George Stevens, Jr., Screenwriter Ivan Moffat, and Film
Critic Stephen Farber

George
Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him (SD,
46 min.) is a documentary featuring several
different interviews with directors who knew George Stevens, including
Frank
Capra, Warren Beatty, and Robert Wise (amongst others). These directors
offer up
their own insight into the filmmaker, both in terms of his art and his
unique
personality.

On
the Bonus Features DVD:

Memories
of Giant (52
min.) is a documentary produced in 1998, and that features
interviews with most of the cast and crew and George Steven's son,
George
Stevens, Jr.

Return
to Giant (55
min.)
is another documentary about Giant. This one was produced in 2003 and
it delves
into a lot of similar ground a the first one as it mainly features
interviews
about Giant, and select film clips.

Stills
and Documents
provide both photographs from the making of the film and memos from Giant.

Behind
The Cameras: On Location in Marfa, Texas (6
min.)

Behind
the Cameras: A Visit with Dmitri Tiomkin (7
min.)

Trailers
promoting
Giant (both during its original
theatrical release and re-release).

There
are text-based inclusion on this release:A
Giant Undertakingis a text-based walkthrough of George Stevens
career asfilmmaker, George
Stevens
Filmography
notes his works, Awards details the
awards won, and Cast and Crew gives
more insight into the careers of others who worked on Giant.

Rebel
Without a Cause

The
edition of Rebel Without a Cause includes the
majority of the supplements from the 2005 Special Edition 2-Disc DVD
release.
This release also adds a brand new supplemental feature.

Details
of the Supplements:

Dennis
Hopper's "Memories from the Warner Lot" (HD,
11 min.), a brand new interview for the Blu-ray edition. In this piece,
Hopper
discusses his work on Giant and Rebel
Without a Cause.

Commentary
by Douglas L. Rathgeb, the
author of The
Making of Rebel Without a Cause.

James
Dean Remembered (1
Hr. 6 min.) is another documentary about James Dean and featuring
interviews with actors he worked with, particularly those involved with
Rebel Without a Cause, such as Natalie
Wood and Sal Mineo.

Rebel
Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents (37
min.) is a documentary
chronicling the production of the film.

Screen
Tests (6
min.)
and Wardrobe Tests (5 min.) are
provided.

Several
Deleted Scenes are included, and these scenes include
both scenes
from the black and white filming (from when the film was originally
being made in black and white) and color
scenes cut from the second phase of filming. All of the scenes are
presented
without sound.

Behind
the Camera
features short interviews with James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Jim
Backus.

Theatrical
Trailer

East
of Eden

All
of the supplements from the
2005 2-Disc DVD Special Edition have been ported over for the Blu-ray
edition
of East of Eden, including:

Commentary
by film critic Richard Schickel

Forever
James Dean (1
Hr.), a documentary about James Dean, as narrated by Bob Gunton.

East
of Eden: Art in Search of Life (20
Min.) is a documentary with interviews with
various individuals who were involved with the making of East
of Eden.

There
are also a number of shorter
supplements, including: Screen Tests
(6 min.), Wardrobe Tests (23 min.), Deleted
Scenes (19 min.), and the 3/9/55 NYC Premiere (14
min.) which
featured appearances by novelist Steinbeck, director Kazan, and others.

The
original Theatrical Trailer is also included.

Screenshot
from East of Eden

Final
Thoughts:

Dean
has a cult status in popularity. He is one of the most
cherished actors in film history. The undeniable thing about Dean is
that he
possessed a massive star-appeal: he was full of the charisma and grace
that we
find in today's most cherished movie-stars, and he was quite
definitively unique as an actor with an immense range
that is still quite uncommon.

These
films are genuine classics and deserve a spot in any
film collection and the new Blu-ray presentations offer enthusiasts the
best
home viewing options ever made available for Rebel Without
a Cause, Giant,
and East of Eden. The transfers are
significantly improved over the previous DVD editions.

Film
buffs will cherish having these films on Blu-ray.
Whether the films are purchased in this luxurious set honoring the
legacy of
James Dean or individually, DigiBook style (as each film was released
with a
standalone collector's edition release) the transfers and supplements
should
impress.

Keep
in mind, if you want to receive every possible
supplemental feature this is probably the best bet as the collection
contains
DVD's of James Dean: Sense Memories
and James Dean: Forever Young, making
this a truly 'ultimate' collection for fans of the actor. You also get
exclusive memorabilia (as detailed in the 'extras' section of this
review).

It's
a real treat to have Rebel Without a Cause, Giant,
and East of Eden in 1080p HD and fans
shouldn't be disappointed. This is an excellent set worthy of our
highest
accolade, our highly coveted DVD Talk Collector Series.

Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema, and a student who aspires to make movies. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas.